DAY 1 – PERMACULTURE 2 – TOOLS

Which tool to use to grow your own food on a planet with a rapidly changing climate?

We have a look at the tools most necessary to grow your own food. John Turner takes us through the tools. Irrespective of the tools which you use, your hands are still the best tools, and a tool should be the extension of your hands. The tools we look at are primarily for those with a small garden, where one would use a hand fork as opposed to the large fork. This is perfect as most of us are now living in the suburbs, with only a small garden to grow your own food in. Why use a thin narrow trowel? They are effective when it comes to removing a plant from the soil that has a long tap root. Why use a broad hand trowel or spade? Brilliant for moving soil around your garden. John tells us more about the multiple uses of a large spade, from using it to “cut” soil, using it as a hoe and a few more. He then moves on to the large shovel, which the main purpose is for moving soil en masse. An interesting tidbit is that one needs to keep your back straight while using it. He sheds some light on the large fork, which is mostly used for aeration, by creating air channels, which are necessary for giving air to the microbes and life in the soil, including the movement of subterranean water and the movement of the moon. The weeding tool is also discussed, which is a tool most people wouldn’t know what it is when looking at it. Its primary use is to reduce collateral damage when removing weeds, and by so doing, protecting the plants around the weed. That’s an intro to the video. Enjoy watching the entire video!